Earth 2: World's End #19: Jimmy Olsen is going places

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Every week, we speak with author Daniel H. Wilson for a detailed recap of Earth 2: World’s End, the weekly DC Comics title he’s spearheading about an alternate earth devastated by its prolonged war with Apokolips. In this Blastr exclusive, we explore the issue with Wilson and offer a sneak peek at what readers can look for in future installments.

I don't know about you, dear comic book readers, but every issues of Earth 2 I read feels more and more like a build up to Convergence. I'm exploring each installment, snooping around for clues to explain more about the role Earth-2 will play in the oncoming comic event -- and I think I've found a big one: Jimmy Olsen. In my opinion, Olsen is going to be a major part of Convergence, and I think he may transform into something even greater than what we've seen in this title. I try to get more info out of Wilson about this, along with some more info about the role Green Lantern and Batman play in this end game to the title.

Alan Scott is in the Parliament’s Enclave battling this Deathspawn of Apokolips. Does he have the biggest job right now?

They all have really important quests. They are all doing something vital. If anyone’s job were to fail, it spells doom for all. Green Lantern definitely has the main quest. This is an attack on the planet, and he’s the defender of the planet. He is up against the biggest, baddest forces of Apokolips. That means Darkseid. We started out with Alan Scott, and he brough us into this story. And he’s going to take us out.

We reconnect with Dick Grayson and Ted Grant at Atom’s Haven. Grayson looks a little more formidable, and we encounter the characters Constantine thawed out earlier. Is this his rogues gallery?

So it is interesting how heroes and villains scale against each other. You’re watching Green Lantern deal with the evil entity that is the spawn of Darkseid himself, and then we have Dick Grayson, who is just a guy. He’s been through tragedy, picked up a mentor and learned how to scrap. He’s up against Obsidian in the tunnels of Atom’s Haven and stumbles on something nefarious that happens to do with getting his son back. The criminials he’s up against scale to his level. The battles being fought are big and small.

There are these tentacle things invading Atom’s Haven. Are these the result of the terraforming satellites or the Deathspawn infection?

It is both. Think of Deathspawn as the inception and the satellites as the incubator, that’s what’s happening. The planet itself is being terraformed, and turned into something else. It’s spreading inside out.

What does Darkseid need another planet for?

I want to be careful not to give anything away, because there’s a fun reveal coming up in #20 or #21. But it has been stated previously that Apokolips is out of power. Also, we found Darkseid consumed the last of Apokolips’ power when he was in the Mobius Chamber recovering from a large battle. So Apokolips is running on fumes.

How much do you love Crane, the Robotman? Considering your work, it seems like he’d be your guy.

God, I was just thinking how much I love him. I’m looking at the panel where he’s welding on this old school rocket, and I just love the character design so much. The idea he has a human face projected on a video. He is, in reality, just a brain in a jar delights me to no end.

Is this the kind of character you’d like to spin off in other adventures?

He’s my Doc Brown. I wouldn’t want to put an entire series on his shoulder … actually, you could. That wouldn’t be my first instinct. If I was going to run with a character, I’d run with Mister Terrific. He is a hero, and I really like him. But Crane is more of a mad scientist. He is not much of a hero. If I have my druthers, he’ll be around as long as I’m writing any of these characters. My Doc Brown will be floating around.

Is Jimmy Olsen your Marty McFly?

Hell, yeah! He is absolutely my Marty McFly.

So is Jimmy the hero we should be watching more than anyone else?

…Again, don’t want to give too much away. But Jimmy is definitely worth watching. As long as I’m working on this stuff, he’ll be around.

I suspect on some level Jimmy has the ability to change into something bigger, greater.

It is fair to say he is on his way somewhere. He has been chosen by the Mother Box, and definitely in the middle of a transformation, and on the way somewhere.

When the heroes encounter this tick mines in space, Mister Miracle and Fury seem dedicated on saving their humans, Sandman and Michael Holt. Are these radically different New Gods than even a few issues ago?

Fury is more dedicated than Miracle; he doesn’t think they’ll survive or are worth fooling with them. But she has been working closely with Mister Terrific, and he estimation of their capabilities has risen. Look back on issue 11, and they come out of that encounter on Apokolips and decide to throw their lot in with humanity. They are able to understand why humanity fights, and we can die, which means more. They respect that.

We began last issue with Batman and Huntress, and they take us out of this issue. They infiltrate a building operated by Sloan, who we haven’t seen for a while. Is it safe to assume this information held by Oliver Queen is connected to Sloan’s big plan?

It is clear the reason Oliver Queen hasn’t been around is he’s been hiding from Sloan. We saw in the Earth 2 monthly how many plates Sloan has spinning. Definitely, it would have been important to Bruce Wayne to make sure Sloan was kept out of whatever his big plan was, or whatever he entrusted Queen with.

The final panel is Thomas Wayne and Helena watching Apokolips close in. What is the immediate next thought they might have?

This is an epic-level detective journey for them. They’re trying to figure out the next clue to get them to the next place. In the meantime, the entire city is being engulfed by molten lava. So it’s now or never. Figure out the mystery right now and uncover Bruce’s hidden legacy, or it’s not going to happen.

Favorite moment of this issue?

When Fury says, “hold onto your human.” I love that they treat us kind of like pets, but smart pets they like. They don’t want us to get run over or anything.